We Canadians

By Niraj Chandra

Creating a good website is very simple - as I found out the hard way after weeks of tireless experimentation. Hopefully, this article will help others in creating their websites without going through my learning curve.

Just a few months I was an absolute novice. I was a good writer so I figured there would’nt be much problem with content but I didn’t know where to begin in creating the web-site itself. I picked up a couple of books at the library but they were obviously the wrong ones. They directed me towards  HTML and I spent quite a few afternoons learning the code that drives all websites.

My advice today - dont! HTML is not required anymore although of course, knowledge never hurts. I found that the only real use for HTML was to customize webpages by changing existing code.

Then I needed  to register my website name - in short I needed a webhost. There are plenty to choose from -in fact, far too many and they charge about the same. I chose “Ipower” because it was recommended in some websites; there must be others that are equally good. Luckily, my preferred website name was available and I signed up for the service for just a few dollars a month. I even got some free website developing software which was pretty easy to use - but a bit slow to upload.

The next issue was to choose the overall design of the website - called the template or the theme. The Ipower web tool gave quite a few choices and I simply picked whatever looked best. But I wasn’t satisfied and changed the template every few weeks. As I added more content, I reached the allowed page limit and paid for an upgrade to get unlimited pages. I experimented and learnt how to add pictures, position them correctly, add voting buttons etc.

To get traffic, I got the website registered with google and this helped a little. However, I got a spike in traffic by writing on current issues like the recent transit strike and by posting comments on  stories in other  news sites. Wherever possible, I referenced my own website in the comments.

Then I discovered Wordpress with the help of a friend. Just a little research showed this is the blogging software of choice, used by media outlets such as Macleans, Wall Street Journal and others. I set up for a free blog in wordpress just to check it out; it is definitely the easiest software to use. Just go to the Dasboard and play with the controls; it takes just a few minutes to get the feel for all the features. But I didnt like Wordpress on my address . To get a more professional look, I wanted the word “Wordpress” out of the web address.

This turned out to be a major stumbling block. I tried re-directing the address in Wordpress using some controls that I dont understand even today. It didnt work; I only succeeded in jamming up the Wordpress web-page. I tried researching the subject but got lost in all the technical jargon that only Wordpress nerds understand.

I tried to shift the web-hosting to Wordpress but this wasn’t easy either - besides I was already committed paying Ipower to host my website for a year. I also discovered Wordpress has limited support - it is difficult, if not impssible, to talk to a “live” human being.

I tried changing stuff in Ipower but nothing worked. Finally, I called Ipower tech support and they told me exactly how to upload and setup Wordpress within Ipower. Their tech support is incredible -you can talk on the phone or use live chat. I prefer live chat; I can ask questions at any time and get an instant written reply.

I followed their written instructions to the letter and they worked. I don’t even remember all the details but I do recall that the tech support was excellent. Now, when I enter the address for my web-site, Wordpress shows up while Ipower runs in the background.

Little by little, I learned some of the ways that Wordpress works; they are not always intuitive, though. For example there are Posts, Pages, Categories and Tags in Wordpress. Pages actually refers to the static pages in Wordpress like, for example, an About page where you provide static information about the website including contact information.

The real work is done in Posts, where you actually post your day to day entries. You assign a category to each post and this is how Wordpress sorts them out. For example, if you assign a Post to a category called Environment, it will be stored under the Environment tab. It is akin to a page for ordinary folks, only Wordpress calls it a category.

You can also assign a tag to the post; this is really for the search engines which pick up the information in the tag description. So choose your tags carefully for this is how the search engines will find the information they are looking for.

The template used for creating the website is called Theme in Wordpress. There are hundreds of themes to choose from but there were only a couple of themes loaded in my default Wordpress set-up. There are plenty of free themes available for download from the web; it just needs a bit of googling to find the right one.

How do we load the theme? This, I finally figured out, requires an ftp tool. This tool essentially connects the files on your computer to the files on your website, so  files can be uploaded to the website. The tool I used was Cuteftp -it is available on a free  thirty day trial basis. Again, you have to know exactly which directtory to upload the files to.  It is called wp-themes and in my case, it was located inside the “public” folder. Once the theme is uploaded correctly, it will display in the Wordpress Dashboard under Appearance - themes.

A successful web-site also needs plug-ins or widgets. These are pieces of software that do specific tasks like tracking the hits to the web-site. Some plug-ins are provided in the Wordpress package; others are found in the Wordpress plug-in directory. Some may require a download to your computer and then an upload to the website using the ftp tool.

Other stuff  like uploading pictures or adding links is very easy to do in Wordpress and does not require any explanation. But if you have questions that a self-learner like me can answer, please do not hesitate to post them in Comments.

In short, here are the basic steps to setting up your web-site:

1. Choose a name and got to any web-hosting service like Ipower to register the name. If it is taken, find another name.

2. Pay the fees to the web-hosting company to get your website going.

3.Install Wordpress on your web-site; use the hosting company’s tech support to get this up and running.

4.Set up your basic web-site by creating a few posts; make sure each post is assigned a category and a tag.

5. Select a few themes that you like; browse the internet till you find afew of them -preferably the free downloads.

6. Download the themes to your computer

7. Download Cuteftp or a similar program to your computer.

8.Launch Cuteftp;follow the instructions to connect with your web-site and upload the themes files to website directory call wp-themes.

9.Start your web-site, go to Wordpress dashboard and activate the themes of your choice.

10  Customize the website to your taste and be sure to put in a traffic counter.

11. Create some killer content that will attract viewers;make sure all the links are working well.

12. Register the site with google; wait a day or two for the search engines to find your site.

13 Start commenting on other websites with similar interests; wherever possible, put a reference to your own website.

14.Post your website on bookmarking sites such as digg, stumble upon etc.

15.Watch the traffic grow; traffic on my site spiked after switching to Wordpress.

16 Learn the other features of  Wordpress like RSS feeds, Permalinks etc.

17. And most important, post a link to my website

http://www.wecanadians.com

on your site!

The Allergists voted to scratch it, and the Dermatologists advised not
to make any rash moves.
 
The Gastroenterologists had sort of a gut feeling about it, but the
Neurologists thought the Administration had a lot of nerve, and the Obstetricians felt they were all laboring under a misconception.

The Ophthalmologists considered the idea shortsighted.

The Pathologists yelled, ‘Over my dead body!’ while the Pediatricians
said, ‘Oh, Grow up!’

The Psychiatrists thought the whole idea was madness, the Radiologists
could see right through it, and the Surgeons decided to wash their hands of the whole thing.

The Internists thought it was a bitter pill to swallow but the
Plastic Surgeons said, ‘This puts a whole new face on the matter.’

 The Podiatrists thought it was a step forward, but the Urologists felt
the scheme wouldn’t hold water.

The Anesthesiologists thought the whole idea was a gas, but in the end  the
Cardiologists didn’t have the heart to say no.

Contributed by Ruby B.

My water heater broke down after 17 years of flawless service - and that is when I discovered I had shelled out  two and a half times its value in rent, not counting the interest!

As a matter of fact I did’nt even know the heater was a rental; this fact was conveniently disguised in the utility bills as a “service charge”. Only by drilling down to the fineprint on page 3 was the item revealed as a rental fee.

The water heater is a very reliable piece of equipment; it has fewer moving parts than most of the mechanical devices in the home. All it does, essentially, is burn fuel and use the energy to heat up the water. It has no fans, no bearings and no compressor. And yet, utility company tell us it  is worthwhile to rent water heaters because the company will take care of the “maintenance”.

The water heater itself costs a few hundred dollars; add installation and it might possibly be worth one thousand dollars. For this, I paid a rent of over twelve dollars a month, cleverly disguised as a service charge.Over 17 years, this added up to about twenty four hundred dollars not counting the interest.

No one rents the other mechanical equipment in the house like the furnace, the fan system, the air-conditioner, the refrigerator or the dishwasher. All of this equipment does require maintenance for which people shell out some money from time to time. By contrast, the water heater is almost maintenance-free and yet so many of us pay rent for it for its entire useful life.

Just one example of how large companies rip off  the consumers on small things whenever they get the chance.

By Niraj Chandra

An atheist professor of philosophy speaks to his class on the problem science has with God. He asks one of his new students: 

Prof: So you believe in God?
Student: Absolutely, sir.

Prof : Is God good? Is God all-powerful?
Student : Yes.

Prof: My brother died of cancer even though he prayed to God to heal him. But God didn’t. How is this God good then? Hmm?
(Student is silent.)

Prof: You can’t answer, can you? Let’s start again, young fella. Is God good?
Student: Yes.

Prof: Is Satan good?
Student : No

Prof: Where does Satan come from?
Student: From…God….

Prof: That’s right. Tell me son, is there evil in this world?
Student: Yes.

Prof: Evil is everywhere, isn’t it? And God did make everything. Correct?
Student: Yes.

Prof: So who created evil?
(Student does not answer.)

Prof: Is there sickness? Immorality? Hatred? Ugliness? All these terrible things exist in the world, don’t they?
Student: Yes, sir.

Prof: So, who created them?
(Student has no answer.)

Prof: Science says you have 5 senses you use to identify and observe the world around you. Tell me, son…Have you ever seen God?
Student: No, sir.

Prof: Tell us if you have ever heard your God?
Student: No, sir.

Prof: Have you ever felt your God, tasted your God, smelt your God? Have you ever had any sensory perception of God for that matter?
Student: No, sir. I’m afraid I haven’t.

Prof: Yet you still believe in Him?
Student: Yes.

Prof: According to empirical, testable, demonstrable protocol, science says your GOD doesn’t exist. What do you say to that, son?
Student: Nothing. I only have my faith.

Prof: Yes. Faith. And that is the problem science has.
Student: Professor, is there such a thing as heat?

Prof: Yes.
Student: And is there such a thing as cold?
Prof: Yes.

Student: No sir. There isn’t.
(The lecture theatre becomes very quiet with this turn of events.)

Student: Sir, you can have lots of heat, even more heat, superheat, mega heat, white heat, a little heat or no heat. But we d on’t have anything called cold. We can hit 458 degrees below zero which is no heat, but we can’t go any further after that.
There is no such thing as cold . Cold is only a word we use to describe the absence of heat . We cannot measure cold. Heat is energy . Cold is not the opposite of heat, sir, just the absence of it. (There is pin-drop silence in the lecture theatre.)

Student: What about darkness, Professor? Is there such a thing as darkness?
Prof: Yes. What is night if there isn’t darkness?

Student : You’re wrong again, sir. Darkness is the absence of something. You can have low light, normal light, bright light, flashing light. But if you have no light constantly, you have nothing and it’s called darkness, isn’t it? In reality, darkness isn’t. If it were you would be able to make darkness darker, wouldn’t you?
Prof: So what is the point you are making, young man?

Student: Sir, my point is your philosophical premise is flawed.
Prof: Flawed? Can you explain how?

Student: Sir, you are working on the premise of duality. You argue there is life and then there is death, a good God and a bad God. You are viewing the concept of God as something finite, something we can measure. Sir, science can’t even explain a thought. It uses electricity and magnetism, but has never seen, much less fully understood either one. To view death as the opposite of life is to be ignorant of the fact that death cannot exist as a substantive thing. Death is not the opposite of life : just the absence of it. Now tell me, Professor. Do you teach your students that they evolved from a monkey?

Prof: If you are referring to the natural evolutionary process, yes, of course, I do.
Student: Have you ever observed evolution with your own eyes, sir?
(The Professor shakes his head with a smile, beginning to realize where the argument is going.)

Student: Since no one has ever observed the process of evolution at work and cannot even prove that this process is an on-going endeavor, are you not teaching your opinion, sir? Are you not a scientist but a preacher? (The class is in uproar.)
Student: Is there anyone in the class who has ever seen the Professor’s brain?
(The class breaks out into laughter.)

Student: Is there anyone here who has ever heard the Professor’s brain, felt it, touched or smelt it? No one appears to have done so. So, according to the established rules of empirical, stable, demonstrable protocol, science says that you have no brain, sir. With all due respect, sir, how do we then trust your lectures, sir?
(The room is silent. The professor stares at the student, his face unfathomable.)

Prof: I guess you’ll have to take them on faith, son.
Student: That is it sir…. The link between man & god is FAITH . That is all that keeps things moving & alive.


The student was none other than……… PJ Abdul Kalam , the former president of India .

By Niraj Chandra

Does President Obama owe some of his good fortune to the idol of the monkey god Hanuman that he carries in his pocket? Indians would certainly like to believe so and there may be some evidence to back this up.

It is well known that Mr Obama carried a number of lucky charms in his pocket during election days. One of them was a gold idol of Hanuman, as shown in a picture published in Time magazine on June 2, 2008. As most people of Indian origin know, Hanuman is worshipped with special fervour on Tuesdays when people go to temples and pray for success in all kinds of endeavours. More often than not, Hanuman bestows his blessings on Tuesdays.

Obama won his electoral victory on November 4, 2008 – a Tuesday.

He assumed the office of President on January 20, 2009 – another Tuesday.

So who knows? Tuesdays do seem to work well for him.

In India’s traditions, Hanuman represents lack of ego and selfless service.  Incidentally, these are the ideal qualities required of a world leader – and qualities that we haven’t seen in a long time in an American president.

The people of India have celebrated the success of Mr Barack Obama in their  unique way. Here is a bollywood-style presentation of the Obama story. The words are in Hindi but an English translation is available on the web-site:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h96qtbEviUU

The song extols Obama’s achievements and does talk about the Hanuman connection.

Green commuting is spreading like wildfire throughout the US, as cities and counties compete with each other to provide better incentives to  workers for choosing environmentally-friendly options for getting to work. The simplest and most innovative plan belongs to Marin County in California which offers four dollars a day to County employees for using any means of transportation other than a single occupant vehicle. As Jeri Stewart, the program manager, explains “Other cities and counties have developed complex incentive programs that require an administrative  team for managing the process. We kept it very simple and passed on the savings to the commuters.” The program has successfully reduced traffic congestion and air pollution in the Golden Gate bridge area.

The U.S. government has adopted telework in a big way; the General Services Administration, employing thousands of people, wants 50% of eligible employees to telework within the next three years. It has also set up over a dozen ”telework” stations in the Washington, DC suburbs so that employees don,t have to commute to the downtown area. Continue reading The Green Commute

It is good to have one set of phonebooks in the house or in an office.  But why can’t the phone companies just issue an update every year? There is not too much that changes in the phone books every year – a few telephone numbers and perhaps,  some yellow pages. By issuing a supplement and not printing the entire phone books, the phone companies can save tonnes of greenhouse gases.

To figure out exactly how much is saved just look at the data compiled by the web-site “yellowpagesgoesgreen.com”. 540 million  telephone books are printed in the US alone, with an average weight of 3.6 pounds. And it takes 24 trees and 380 gallons of oil to produce one ton of paper.  It also consumes about 7000 galons of water. According to the web-site “goodhumans.com” this can add up to 19 million trees every year.

The telephone companies can also offer the directories on CDs or DVDs; this way they can put the cash-generating yellow pages into the mix. Of course, directory information is available on-line also but I don’t find it very convenient. If you miss-spell a name, you don’t get a hit, or you may get so many hits that you dont find the person you are looking for.  A CD or a DVD format would be just fine. Ideally it should be possible to download the directory information into the phone itself but this will probably require a new generation of smarter phones.

Consumers should be given the choice of not getting new phone books; in fact they should get a discount for not using up so much of the phone company’s resources.

So why not just pick  up the phone, call your phone company and tell them not to send the phone books the next time around. Or better still, ask for a CD version – sooner or later the phone company will get the message.